The Dodge CIty Incident
by Emmint
Summary: The Blues and Royals regiment, under the command of Major Mattie Dillon, is on manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain with one very important captain, the tanks go through an anomaly and Mattie meets her five times great grandfather US Marshal Matt Dillon.


**Dodge City 1878**

Everything was quiet in Dodge that morning and that was the way US Marshal Matt Dillon liked it, there was a rumbling sound like thunder in the distance which seemed to be getting closer. He sat down on one of the two chairs outside his office, stretched his legs out and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Doc Adams shook his head as he walked up the sidewalk. "Here we have the law sleeping on the job in the mid-morning," Matt raised his hat to look steadily at his friend.

"Howdy, Doc, all that noise figures we'll have a storm soon," Doc nodded even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky. What they didn't know was that north of Dodge in the hills a shimmering ball of light sat just near the road.

**Salisbury Plain 2014**

The shimmering ball of light, spread itself across the tank track just as one hundred tanks were racing forward on manoeuvres, they went through it before they had chance to stop.

**ARC Research Centre, London 2014**

The anomaly alert sounded Jess Parker scanned the console. "Anomaly is on Salisbury Plain, it's linked back to an anomaly near Dodge City, Kansas in 1878," Connor Temple input the details into their handhelds and picked up the case containing the device for locking the anomaly, Matt Anderson led the team to the cars. Becker had already dialled the Ministry of Defence.

"The army have lost one hundred tanks," Captain Hilary Becker said.

"They must have gone through it," Matt Anderson said.

"It could work the other way, we could have cavalry, cowboys and Native Americans coming through and they won't have the first idea how to live in the 21st Century," Connor said.

"That could include any animal life that comes through such as Buffalo, horses, wolves and coyotes," Abby said.

"I've got maps of Salisbury Plain and the area around Dodge city in 1878. The tank track here is heading in the same direction as the old dirt road that led through Dodge City back in 1878. Connor do you know anything more about Dodge City?"

"Yeah, most notable characters back then were...WOW... Becker, did you ever watch Gunsmoke?"

"I did, good series."

"No one will believe this, but Doc Adams, Kitty Russell, Festus Haggens and Matt Dillon, they really existed."

**Dodge City 1878**

The tanks appeared one after the other out of the ball of light, no one saw them arrive. The tank commander was surprised to see a town ahead of them there shouldn't be a town anywhere near them and then she noticed that instead of a muddy track the track was dry and dusty. She would have stopped but the tanks were going to fast to stop before they went through the town, she slowed them down which was all she could do.

Matt Dillon looked in the direction the rumbling noise was coming from noting that there was now an added sound a kind of squealing. The horses were restless, cavalry mounts lined the street as they had just been paid, Doc's eyes had widened. "What in tarnation is that?" Matt turned back in the direction of the noise, now he too registered that this was completely unlike anything he'd ever seen unless you counted the incident with the TARDIS the previous year. They watched astonished as the FV4034 Challenger 2 Tanks rumbled in. The tank commander held up her hand and signalled the tanks to pull up. She climbed down from the tank, and saluted.

"I'm Major Mattie Dillon, sir," Mattie said. "Blues and Royals Regiment. Household Cavalry. I have an odd question to ask but where and when are we."

"I'm US Marshal Matt Dillon. The where is Dodge City and the when is June 1878."

"Major Dillon," Mattie turned round. "We've just been overflown by one of our unmanned reconnaissance drones."

"Good, then someone knows we're here and just maybe they'll be able to tell us what the hell happened."

"You mentioned that you were the Blues and Royals, which army is that regiment in?"

"The British army, we have ceremonial duties as well as regular military service."

"Ceremonial duties?"

"Yes, we guard the Royal family and sometimes other visiting heads of state."

"Major, someone coming in a humvee," Captain Hilary Becker alighted from the humvee and approached them, he saluted Major Dillon and then turned and saluted a captain on the tank behind the Major's tank.

"Captain Hilary Becker, Major Dillon."

"I suppose you're going to tell us what happened?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Captain Becker," Becker turned to the Captain he'd saluted. "If you ever salute me again I'll knock your ruddy block off."

"Your Royal Highness," the Captain sighed.

"Don't you dare, when in uniform I'm simply Harry Wales, if you can possibly remember that."

"Yes, sir. What you have to do is go back the way you came and quickly I'm not sure how long the anomaly will be there."

"Right, crank them up. I don't want to be the one to tell Queen Elizabeth that we lost her grandson," Major Dillon mounted her tank they turned round slowly rather ungainly and with a lot of clanking. Then went back the way they came followed by Captain Becker and the townsfolk of Dodge. They stared in astonishment as the tanks disappeared through the anomaly followed by Captain Becker a few moments later the anomaly wavered in and out then vanished altogether.

**Salisbury Plain 2014**

As soon as the last tank and Captain Becker was back through they watched as the anomaly shut down. "Welcome back," Matt Anderson handed a mobile phone to Captain Wales. "Your grandmother," he said.

"Thank you. Hi, Grandmother, I'm fine, it was fun, really. I'll tell you about it when I get home," Matt smiled, Harry thanked him and handed the phone back.

"Major Dillon, what did you make of Marshal Dillon?"

"Good man," she said, "why?"

"We did some research, he's your five times great-grandfather."

"You're kidding!"

"I kid you not."

"Now I know why the family tradition."

"What tradition is that?"

"Eldest born is always called Matthew or Matilda, but if you ever call me Matilda I'll beat the living daylights out of you," Matt laughed.

"Needless to say but you must never talk about this outside of those we permit. We have to keep the people from panicking at the thought of what could come through those anomalies. It doesn't matter if Queen Elizabeth knows it does matter if anyone else knows and that includes family," the ARC scientists got back in their vehicles and left the regiment to sort themselves out.


End file.
